U.S. stock futures lower before Philly poll

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock-market futures edged lower on Thursday, with bond yields again in the spotlight as attention turns to a Philadelphia-area manufacturing gauge for clues as to whether the Federal Reserve may adopt a more hawkish pose. See full story.

Blackstone sticks with IPO price range; to price on Thursday

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- One of the biggest initial public offerings in the financial-services industry remains on course for a strong stock market debut, despite recent worries about new tax legislation denting the value of the deal. See full story.

Man Group's brokerage IPO could fetch up to $5 billion

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- The initial public offering of MF Global, the futures brokerage that Britain's Man Group is spinning off, could be valued as high as $5 billion, the company said Thursday. See full story.

Dow Jones board to take over company talks

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Dow Jones & Co. said late Wednesday that its board of directors would take over negotiations with Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. from its controlling shareholders, the Bancroft family, in a move analysts said increased the likelihood that the company would be sold. See full story.

Beijing rule change heralds investment upsurge outside China

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Chinese securities regulators may well have been keeping one eye on the calendar as the 10-year anniversary of Hong Kong's return to Chinese sovereignty approaches. See full story.

Todd Harrison: Running with the bulls -- blindfolded

Workers say execs' pay is too high and should be tied to results

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Almost half of U.S. workers -- and two-thirds of those at publicly traded companies -- say the gap between executives' pay and average workers' pay is too wide, according to a report released Wednesday by Hudson, the staffing and outsourcing firm. See full story.

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